Investigators looking for father of arrested Christopher Bean Coffee owner

Friday

Jul 19, 2013 at 4:42 PMAug 12, 2016 at 5:58 PM

Investigators are looking for Charles Brown, the ailing 70-year-old father of Christopher Brown.

LYDA LONGA, STAFF WRITER

EDITOR'S NOTE: Christopher Brown was not prosecuted after his arrest. Read the follow up story here.

When the owner of the Christopher Bean Coffee Co. was arrested after police say an indoor marijuana grow operation was inside his coffee bean warehouse, the businessman told investigators that the area where the pot was found was rented out to his father. Now investigators are looking for Charles Brown, the ailing 70-year-old father of Christopher Brown who has been given less than two years to live, said the son's attorney Aaron Delgado. While Port Orange investigators on Friday would not label Charles Brown a suspect, they confirmed they are looking for the elder Brown for questioning. “Most definitely (we are looking for him),” said Port Orange Capt. David Meyer. “But Christopher Brown is not cooperating with us because he won't tell us where his father is.” Meyer said investigators looked for Charles Brown at a couple of different addresses, but were unsuccessful. Delgado -- who represented Christopher Brown in a corporate lawsuit against his father in 2006 -- would not divulge who the marijuana belongs to, but said: “I certainly think that if you need attention, you arrest a businessman. Arresting a dying old man who is growing a little pot isn't going to give them attention.” In an additional twist to the case, Delgado also said his client filed a police report with Port Orange claiming someone stole a small safe and petty cash from the coffee roasting warehouse at 413 Oak Place. Christopher Brown, 48 — founder of the coffee bean business that provides coffee service to businesses all over the country — was charged with cultivation and manufacture of marijuana and possession of marijuana over 20 grams, an arrest report shows. The discovery of the pot was made by an employee at Christopher Brown's warehouse in Port Orange where the beans of flavored coffees such as Jamaica Me Crazy, Chocolate Glazed Donut and Winter Wonderland are roasted and distributed to offices, hotels and other businesses across the country. The employee, Joseph Kirby, was working late on July 12, roasting coffee beans, police said. Investigators said there were 59 small marijuana plants ranging in size from 4 to 8 inches high and eight full-grown plants. Meyer said the potential street value of the seized plants is about $50,000. When detectives questioned Christopher Brown about the pot, he claimed ignorance and said the plants were found in an area his sick father rents from him, the report shows. But another employee said Brown's father has only been to the warehouse twice and both times he stayed in his car, the report shows. In addition, because the marijuana was found inside a business that produces a consumer product, Port Orange police also contacted the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Meyer said. Amanda Bevism, a spokeswoman with the state agency, said she had no information concerning a request by Port Orange police. Kirby, who took video of the marijuana plants with his cellphone, told investigators that he noticed a light on in a hallway outside Brown's office. Kirby also said he noticed another light coming from a smaller room within Brown's personal gym, police said. Kirby entered the small room — which he said he had no knowledge of — to turn off that light and he saw the pot plants inside, the report shows. He said he stepped back and quickly took a video of the plants with his cellphone so that he could show police. He also called his wife and asked her to come to the warehouse because he wanted an additional witness, the report says. Two days later on July 14, Kirby went to Port Orange police headquarters with his cellphone video. It was after 10 p.m., the report shows. Police arrived at the warehouse on Oak Place around midnight. They called Christopher Brown and asked him to meet them there, the report shows. When Christopher Brown got there, they all went inside and investigators said they could immediately smell the marijuana plants. But Christopher Brown said he did not smell marijuana, the report states. Also, he denied knowing anything about the marijuana plants. Christopher Brown told police he did not have a key to the part of the warehouse where the pot was found, the report shows. Police obtained a search warrant and forced their way into the grow room, the report shows. Meyer said the night Kirby discovered the marijuana, the grow room was open. In addition, Kirby told investigators that he has “free access” to the building, the report shows. Meyer said the case remains under investigation and detectives are pursuing all possible leads. He acknowledged that Christopher Brown filed a report about a missing safe, but said the report could not be released because the incident is under investigation. Delgado said arresting Christopher Brown is like arresting a boss for something a secretary keeps in a locked drawer. “I don't see probable cause to arrest Christopher Brown,” Delgado said. “All that's happened is that they've tarnished my client's business image.”

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